The Anthropocene is the proposed new geological epoch that recognizes the transformation of the earth by human activity. Geologists at twelve sites around the world have been investigating these traces in order to attempt to officially ratify the new epoch, and in May 2022 they presented their results at Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt. These scientific presentations were followed by a four-day public event called Unearthing the Present, during which geologists and earth scientists were in conversation with humanists, artists, and social scientists to think through the planetary and cultural implications of these geological findings.

In this audio episode, we hear from various participants of the Unearthing the Present event and discuss the science and sociopolitical implications of the Anthropocene. Simon Turner, Secretary of the AWG, reflects on some of the findings.

If you want to find out more about the scientific research on the Anthropocene, you can check out the publication The Geological Anthropocene, which provides an in-depth introduction to each of the 12 sites and the geological ratification process. Full videos of some of the Unearthing the Present events that you’ve heard in this piece are also available to watch on anthropocene-curriculum.org. 

This episode was written, narrated, and edited by Rowan Deer. 

The full names and affiliations of all the voices featured are listed below:

Main Segment:

• Simon Turner, Senior Research Fellow in Geography, University College London; Secretary of the Anthropocene Working Group; Science Coordinator of the HKW-AWG collaborative project.
• Bernd Scherer, Director of Haus der Kulturen der Welt (2006–22).
• Jan Zalasiewicz, Emeritus Professor of Palaeobiology, University of Leicester; Chair of the Anthropocene Working Group (2009–2020).
• Colin Waters, Chair of the Anthropocene Working Group (2020–)
• Michelle Murphy, Professor of History and Women and Gender Studies, University of Toronto.
• Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Emeritus Professor, University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne.
• Francine McCarthy, Professor of Earth Sciences, Brock University.
• Neil Rose, Professor of Environmental Pollution and Palaeolimnology, University College London.
• Barbara Fiałkiewicz-Kozieł, Assistant Professor, Adam Mickiewicz University.
• Sophia Roost, New York University.
• Elizabeth Hadly, Professor of Biology and Faculty Director of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, Stanford University.
• Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Georgetown University.

Intro Segment: 

• “What do geoscientists hear when they listen to the earth?”

Katrin Klingan, Head of the Department of Literature and Humanities, Haus der Kulturen der Welt.

• “This artificially modified ground, acting as a recorder to anthropogenic signals, and home to novel materials.”

Katrin Hornek, University of Applied Arts Vienna.

• “You and I have never known a world without plastic in it.”

Kat Austen, Studio Austen. 

• “All that is solid melts into air, all that is sacred is profaned…”

Sophia Roosth, New York University.

• “We’ve moved into this new epoch where humans are driving planetary change.”

Victor Galaz, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University.

• “We have become the asteroid.”

Mark Williams, Professor of Palaeobiology, University of Leicester.

• “It is leading towards a more dangerous, more degraded, less biologically rich planet.”

Jan Zalasiewicz, Emeritus Professor of Palaeobiology, University of Leicester; Chair of the Anthropocene Working Group (2009–2020).

• “We’re not the only ones affected by planetary change, there is a whole world of life out there also having to adapt and change.”

Simon Turner, Senior Research Fellow in Geography, University College London; Secretary of the Anthropocene Working Group; Science Coordinator of the HKW-AWG collaborative project.

• “So what do we humans do? And how do we respond to these rapid changes and these tipping points? Humans have always been an ingenious species…”

Victor Galaz, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University.